Our Own Music - Loudverse
by TheCulebre
Summary: Lemy Loud embarks in a journey to learn who his sister Lyra is and how she became the woman she became today.


Based on the Loudverse stories by Thrillhouse and other writers.

Lemy trembled, he was shaking, angry, his knuckles white and his hands nearly bleeding as his fists tightened even stronger. He wanted to scream, Lemy wanted to shout to the skies and curse, curse loud and long; curse himself, his name and his cowardliness, but he did not; he grated his teeth in anger and kept his mouth shut, his lungs wanted to explode, but Lemy did not scream, he couldn't, and even if he could he did not deserve it. Lemy remained hidden behind a bush, letting his shame devour his heart and soul as the quiet sobs of Lyra resonated through the dark corner behind the trees. Lemy knew very well why she cried, she had been hurting and she had been hurt, and he knew, and he just watched and laughed.

Lyra's cries picked up again. Lemy wanted his sister's cries to stop, the guilt was devouring him, he was remembering the last drop that drove him to witness Lyra cry, step by step:

"**Hey Bible Nut!" Shouted a girl in the parking lot. Lemy, Lupa and Gwen looked at the distance of the parking lot of the minimart. There was Lyra, standing cool and collected, a group of girls approached her with less than amicable dispositions. "What do you think you are doing bitch?" Asked a Husky girl dressed as a hockey player. **

**"****It appears your sister has been butting where nobody called her, again" said Lupa with her classic cynicism and she slurped a soda. Lemy watched worried, that was Roxanne and her posse were known for being minor delinquents, and rumours said worst. **

**"****Probably tried to convert one of them" smirked Gwen. **

**"****Even more useless than her imaginary friends" smirked Lupa back. Lemy felt a little uncomfortable with the way the two girls referred about his sister. Sure, Lyra at one point had been a bible-thumper, but lately she had become more patient and less annoying without losing her religious beliefs. **

**Lemy tried to hear what his sister said, but Lyra kept herself quiet, making her impossible to listen to Lemy. **

**"****You are the reason why Shanna went to juvie bitch!" Shouted Roxanne. **

**"****Oh great! Your sister is both a nut and a snitch" commented Lupa. **

**"****She is not a snitch!" Said Lemy to Lupa. **

**"****She has snitched on us" replied the albino girl with a straight face. **

**"****That's different! She is our sister" argued Lemy. **

**Lupa shrugged matter-of-factly: "She snitched on us, ergo she is a snitch."**

**Lemy would have argued some more, but Lyra rising her voice. **

**"****Get your hands off of my rosary!" Shouted Lyra as she tried to prevent Roxanne from taking her beaded rosary. **

**"****I'll teach you bitch!" Roxanne punched Lyra, but Lyra held steady. Lemy could not stand watching somebody abusing his sister, he was about to give Roxanne a piece of her foot when Lupa and Gwen pulled him back. **

**"****What are you guys doing?" Demanded Lemy. **

**"****You know what that Roxanne bitch is capable to do? She can kick your ass and cut your face" warned Gwen. **

**"****Don't!" cried Lyra, Lemy turned to see Lyra gritting in pain as Roxanne stepped on her hand with malicious delight. **

**"****She will lose her hand to her little cross" smirked one of the girls near Roxanne as they kicked the beads of the broken rosary far and wide. **

**"****Geez! She will go that far for piece of metal? She is crazy" commented Lupa as she pulled out a cigarette. **

**Lemy wanted to reply, but he held his tongue, he too believed it was a little crazy what her sister was doing, but at the same time he would behave the same way if his bandana got trashed. Was he crazy too?**

**"****Hey what are you doing!?" Shouted the voice of a security guard. **

**"****Cavalry is here, guess Lyra is saved" said Gwen. **

**"****Good, I need a smoke. Come on guys" said Lupa as she walked away.**

**Lemy lowered his head, he felt shame, deep shame, he turned his back to follow Lupa and the action weighted heavy on him, fiscally he was turning his back to Lyra, which felt even worst. **

**"****AAH!" Lupa and Gwen did not hear the painful scream, but Lemy turned and in horror saw Roxanne sprint away as a the security guard rushed to Lyra; his older sister, lying on the floor, now bled from the nose, most probably a cowardly kick by Roxanne. **

**Lemy's heart sank to the very bottom of his soul. There he saw his sister suffer and he did nothing, and now, even if he wanted, he could do nothing. He couldn't bare to go to Lyra's side after his clear display of cowardliness. At that very moment Lemy felt worst than garbage. **

**Later, ashamed and deflated, Lemy ditched Lupa and Gwen and decided to head back home, check on how Lyra was doing. But midway he felt not even good enough for that, he could not bare to face his sister now, but he did not want to meet anybody either, he was feeling too low and angry to talk. Lemy went for the small forest near the house, it was quiet during the day so he would not be bothered; everything was good until he heard the sobbing, the strange and yet familiar sound. Lemy was not sure what to do, he did not want to meet anybody, he did not want to talk, and yet, after what he had done earlier, he did not want to repeat his act if cowardliness. Lemy pressed forward to meet the girl crying until he discovered that the girl crying was Lyra herself. Lemy hid as best as he could as Lyra cried and sobbed on her own between the trees. Lemy had never seen Lyra like this: on the floor, crying, her nose bandaged sobbing pathetically and unconsolable; this was not the confident and secure sister that walked the house like a lion, this was a girl whose world had come falling down like a house on fire. Lemy did not know what to do, his brain was completely out of order, he had to do something, but he could not bear to face her sister, so he just stood there, silent, heartbroken and angry. **

Lemy did not know how long Lyra cried in that spot, but once she felt better it was late. Lemy saw Lyra fix her makeup and smirk the best she could before heading home.

Lemy waited until she was out of sight before heading home himself. He did not know how to approach the situation so he remained quiet, but his gloom demeanour was hard to hide.

With twenty-seven people eating at the same time dinner was noisy as every, but Lemy remained quiet, he could see that Lyra was doing her best to interact with others but he could see through her façade. As he observed Lemy wondered how many times had Lyra suffered and he had not noticed that incomplete smile on her face when trying to appear happy, that hollow stoic eyes when she tried to be serious. As his memories played back he could remember them and just become sadder inside.

"Everything okay Buffalo?" Asked his mother after dinner.

"Yeah, you know what happened to Lyra?" Asked Lemy.

"That? Oh, she said it was an accident, she is feeling better now" replied Luna with a shrug.

Lemy was surprised, Lyra was not used to lie, why she would not tell mom… then again she was hiding her pain from everybody.

"Is sweet that you care so much for Lyra, I am happy you are there for her; you know she doesn't have many people to get along with" said Luna with a worried sight. Lemy could feel a pang of pain in his heart.

"Mom, do you think Lyra is crazy for what she believes?" ventured to ask Lemy.

Luna was surprised at her son's question.

"What do you mean honey?"

"I-I mean, do you think she is wrong? Do you think that is making her worst off than she is now?" Asked Lemy nervous.

Luna sighted, she was not big on philosophical or moral questions, she would leave those to Lincoln or Lucy, heck even Luan and Leni would be better at it than her, but this was his son asking his mother for an answer about one of the most important elements on the life of her eldest daughter.

Luna went to the couch, sat and patted on her side so Lemy would sit besides him. The young rocker sat besides his mother and looked at her with an expression that mixed fear, hope and expectation in probably the most adorable way possible.

For a moment Luna remained quiet, she could smell the deeper meaning of the question her son really had, so she tried to her best to figure a way to understand the meaning behind the enquiry.

"Why do you think your sister believes what she believes?" Asked Luna back to Lemy.

Lemy was taken aback by the question, he was expecting a straight answer from his mom.

"I dunno, because it makes her happy I guess" replied the young rocker with doubt.

"That is the same reason why I play music, because it makes me happy. Do you think it makes me crazy?"

"No mom, but, I don't know… You make people happy with what you do and she doesn't. Sometimes I think Lyra is just doing herself more harm than good. I mean Lupa, Leia, and Aunts Lucy, Lola and Lisa make fun of what she believes, sometimes to very mean ends. And even though she has learned to cool down I do not think the others have warmed up to her" said Lemy with clear worry in his face.

Luna smiled, she was getting there. Years of learning from Lincoln were paying off.

"You know, I think I remember the moment your sister began her path towards religion" said Luna as she looked into the distance, reminiscing.

"Really?" Asked Lemy surprised.

"It was during my third tour with you guys, before I accepted Lincoln offer of everybody moving here" Luna casted her gaze down in shame. "I was a horrible mom back then."

Leni was surprised by what his mom said. "I don't remember being horrible, I remember you being super cool and always smiling and happy."

Luna looked at her son, her eyes were full of shame; Luna knew she shouldn't be telling this to a child, but this was her son, the boy was strong and she was confident he could handle things.

"I was happy because I was drunk, or high, or sometimes lord knows on what. And that was when you could see me Lemy, most of the time I was either in a club, or a stage, a party, a practice or doing whatever I was supposed to do or shouldn't do but did it anyways. I barely spent time with you and your sister properly" said Luna.

Lemy was surprised about his mom words, he tried to remember: He stopped touring with his mom half a year ago, but the time they toured he remembered her always doing time from them… or did she? Lemy began to recall his time on the road with Lyra, who was always there for him; he remembered how many times Lyra consoled him when he was sad, or made him laugh, or scolded him for doing something wrong. Lemy was surprised but he began to realise that in most of his happy family memories on tour were him and Lyra, and sometimes Lina, Aunt Sam or Uncle Chuck. It wasn't until the last two years that his mom began entering the picture more often, and many times there was alcohol in it.

"I-I was very absent in your lives, and the time I was in I was recovering from a party or something. Chuck and Sam where vocal about my behaviour, and I knew they were right, but the more I postponed it the harder it became to face you two; alcohol helped, but the memories never stayed, the only thing that I could remember constantly was you smiling and Lyra's sad gaze, her eyes when I came to be with you guys and I was on something. She was so disappointed of me, she took you away when I stumbled or began loosing my focus or took another drink. Lyra took care of you more than I did, and even now she is more of a mother to you than I am" Luna's eyes began to water, the memories of her foolishness haunting her. She smiled when Lemy grabbed her hand to console her.

"That is then and this is now mom, you changed, is better now" said Lemy.

"For you buffalo, but the time I missed with Lyra will never return. With me as your mother she had to grow up so fast" Luna bit her lip in shame and her eyes teared. "She was the reason why I stopped drinking while I was pregnant with you, she patrolled me so that I would not screw you up. Lisa took care of the science thing but if I did not stop my lifestyle who knows how bad I would have been? Heck, is a miracle I did not destroy either of you by drinking or doing drugs."

Lemy did not know what to say, or why his mom was telling him all of this. He just wanted to know what his mom thought about his sister beliefs, but now he was here, learning about his past and things he just began to realise were less than ideal. But why was his mom telling him all of this? He did not know, but he did not stop Luna, Lemy felt that his mother was going to get to the point, and it would all make sense. Plus he would not abandon his mother while she was crying.

"You know" Luna said, smiling with tears of shame overflowing her eyes. "I think as a baby Lyra held you more times in her arms than I did."

Lemy let his mom cry, it was brief but she seemed to need this, and in a way it was helping him piece things together. Lyra had been doing more than he remembered in his life, she was fulfilling a role in life every child needed, but that Lyra might not have had.

The sobbing stopped, Luna cleared her tears.

"I remember Lyra having mix emotions about me; she tried so hard to connect and I did little in response besides giving her a violin" Luna chuckled softly. "I remember the day everything changed: when she came with the big tattoo on her back, she was so proud. I did not know what to think at the time, dunno if I could think, I was probably on something at the moment. A twelve year old girl with a tattoo all over her back. She wanted my attention and my time so bad she did something so crazy to blend in, and I went crazy on her."

Lemy rubbed his arms, he remembered doing the same thing last year. Lyra was disappointed when she saw the tattoo while his mother just sat and thought about it. He was proud of being like his mother and sister, but Lemy guessed it meant something completely different for them.

"I dunno how angry I got at your sister, Sam found me later on the bed, I had trashed the room hard. Lyra had left and she had taken you with her. When we could not find you in the hotel I was about to lose it, my little girl and my little boy lost in a strange town. If not for Sam I'd gone insane" Luna lowered her head and gave a sad chuckle. "It was getting dark when I got the call, it was from the office of a church, they said they found a girl sitting in one of the pulpits with a little boy sleeping in her arms saying I was her mother."

"I rushed to the place, my mind was everywhere at that time, but I can still relive the most important events of that evening like it was yesterday…"

"**Where are my children!?" Shouted a late-twenties Luna as she rushed off the taxi in a manic panic. **

**"****Luna! Wait!" Shouted Sam, rushing behind her bandmate and best friend. **

**An old lady awaited outside the church, she tried to approach Luna but Luna was having non of it. **

**"****Miss Loud? Blessed be Mary. We were so surprised…" the old lady spoke, but Luna just rushed by and checked the doors of the centenary building for a way in.**

**"****How can I get in?" Demanded Luna. **

**"****Second door is open Miss Loud, don't worry…" the old lady tried to speak, but Luna was too focused on rushing in that she did not paid attention, just opened the door and charged with Sam trying to restrain her best friend. **

**The two women found themselves in a strange environment, non of them being very religious the interior of the place was different to the Churches they had used for shows; the place was actually exclusive for praying, and the wooden designs and sculptures gave it an air of gravity that made both of them feel out of place. To add to the atmosphere the voice of a man softly singing a in latin made the place feel slightly alive. Sam was struck by a sense of respect for the building, while Luna began to panic, the rocker did not know if it was the place or whatever was still in her bloodstream but she could feel the whole building, from the sculptures to the paintings to the stained glass windows, were staring at her with penetrating gazes and judging her every action past, present and future. **

**A tap on her shoulder snapped Luna from her thoughts. **

**"****Over there" pointed Sam who spoke with a quiet voice and pointed to a pulpit in front of a large painting. Lyra held Lemy on her arms while besides her sat an old priest who sang centuries old songs in a dead tongue. **

**"****Lyra! Lemy!" Shouted Luna desperate, Sam rushed behind her. **

**Lyra remained sit, rocking back and forward with Lemy sleeping on her arms. The priest became aware of Luna and stood up with a relieved expression on his face. **

**"****Miss Loud? Thank the Lord!" Said the priest thankful, Luna was anything but. **

**"****Stay away from them!" Shouted Luna as she rushed to Lemy and Lyra. **

**"****Don't you worry miss Loud, they are safe" assured the priest to try to put Luna at ease, but it was pointless. Luna's mind was in full panic mode, she simply wanted to find her children and was just thinking the worst. Without a second thought she pushed the surprisingly solid man out of the way. **

**"****Jesus Christ!" Said the priest as he managed to prevent an injury by a nearby column. Sam rushed to help the priest incorporate. **

**"****Luna, what is wrong with you?" Said Sam, but Luna was not paying attention to her. **

**"****My baby! Lyra!" Said Luna with her eyes tearing. A sleeping Lemy shifted in his sister's arms while Lyra gave her mother a tired, feverish and cold gaze and returned to rock her brother while staring at the painting; in a low voice the tween hummed the tune of the song the priest had been singing. **

**Luna's initial fear of the loss of her children was shocked into a mix with her anger and frustration with Lyra. **

**"****Lyra, what the hell is wrong with you! Disappearing and getting in here!" Shouted Luna, frustrated at her daughter's behaviour.**

**"****Luna stop it! This is a church!" Hissed Sam. **

**Luna paid no mind to Sam's complains, she just wanted to make sense of what was going on. Lyra meanwhile remained imperturbable as she rocked Lemy and hummed. **

**"****Aunt Sam is right mother, this is a church and Lemy is asleep. Being loud here is disrespectful" said Lyra with a monotone voice that shocked Luna. Lyra suddenly seemed so quiet, but Luna had nothing but confusion, anger and fear in her mind. **

**"****You escape and you demand me to be quiet! What is wrong with you!?" Shouted Luna. **

**Sam approached the scene to calm Luna and noticed that Lyra was sweating, the tween's eyes looked tired and her skin was turning pale. **

**"****Luna, I think there is something wrong with Lyra" said Sam. **

**"****Of course there is! She runs away and takes her brother with her! Makes me worry sick!" Complained Luna. **

**"****You were drunk, of course I left and took Lemy with me so she did not look at you in such a state, like I always do" replied Lyra, keeping the monotone tone; the answer shocked everybody, especially Luna who had never had Lyra speak to her like that. **

**"****You inked your whole back! Of course I lost my mind!" Shouted Luna back. The scene was pathetic, and Sam did not know what to do; not only Luna was acting like a child, she hadn't even noticed Lyra's condition yet. **

**"****Your friend means that your daughter seems to be sick" pointed the priest. Luna paid attention and noticed that there were bags underneath Lyra's eyes and the tween seemed to be investing all her energy left into keeping Lemy comfortable. "Nobody could convince her to move, I was afraid I'd have to call an ambulance."**

**"****Lyra, are you okay?" Asked Sam as she gently approached Lyra. **

**"****I am tired" replied Lyra in a debilitated tone. Lyra offered the dozing Lemy to Sam so the tween arms could rest. **

**"****What did you do to her!?" Asked Luna to the priest, her fist rising threatening to meet his face. The clergyman raised his hands defensively. **

**"****Nothing madam! One of the deacons discovered after the service and we tried to help her but it wasn't until resent that she cooperated" replied the priest, afraid of what Luna could do to him. **

**"****Liar! Lyra wasn't sick like this!" Shouted Luna. **

**"****Stop shouting at him!" Was the thundering roar that came from Lyra. Luna was shocked on how Lyra reacted, her feverish eyes brimming with pent-up anger against her mother. Lyra stepped forward as she confronted Luna. "He has done nothing! I ran away because I was tired that me and Lemy had to deal with a drunk musician that barely pays attention to her children! And now you are here being disrespectful! You shout! You are never there for us, you, you…" **

**Lyra's body finally collapsed under the fever. It was Sam's quick reaction that prevented Lyra from hitting the floor face on. **

**"****My baby!" Shouted Luna, her anger traded for full concern. **

**"****She is burning! We need to get Lyra to hospital" said Sam. "Which is the closest one?" Asked Sam to the priest.**

**"****Georgia West, but is Sunday afternoon so most good doctors won't be available. Take her to Sacred Heart General, I know the senior resident of Pathology, I'll contact him immediately" said the priest as he pulled his phone out. **

**Sam took control of the situation, she passed Lemy to Luna's arms and rushed Lyra outside, both woman run against the clock for Lyra's sake. **

**The next couple of hours were hell for Luna. Chunk met the two women at Sacred Heart General hospital to take Lemy back to the hotel, the little boy was going in and out of the sleeping realm so he was due for a good rest. Sam stayed with Luna, doctors and nurses doing their best but with no senior specialist on watch besides a surgeon it felt like amateur hour; luckily the priest was good on his word and soon the senior residents of Pathology and Paediatrics arrived to treat Lyra. The wait was excruciating for Luna, after another hour of waiting one of the doctors came out to speak with Luna and Sam. **

**"****Miss Loud? Doctor Shivago, I would like to talk about your daughter's condition in private" said the pathologist. **

**"****Sam can stay, she is like a sister to me and Lyra's godmother" replied Luna. **

**"****Very well, your daughter is suffering from an unidentified infection most likely related to the inflammation of the tattoo on her back. We are running tests to determine the possibility of any major illness related to infected needles; so far we have nothing serious but we won't be sure until we run all tests" explained the professional. **

**Luna's heart sank deep, imagining all the terrifying illnesses you could catch from a dirty needle. **

**"****How long before Lyra gets better?" Asked Sam as her friend was barely able to do anything but try not to cry. **

**"****We have her on antibiotics, if nothing serious comes on the exams we could be discharging her in a week, in the meanwhile we will have her lightly sedated to deal with the pain of the infection so she may sleep for long periods of time" pointed the Doctor. **

**"****Thank you for your quick response Doctor" muttered Luna as best as she could. **

**"****With all honesty thank my uncle. If he hadn't call me I wouldn't have come here until tomorrow, and the Paediatrician's daughter is a big fan of you Miss Loud so he may ask you for an autograph later" said Shivago, then proceeded to walk away. **

**Luna nodded and looked through the glass at her daughter, Lyra was hooked to an iv and a monitor, tubes coming in and out for other bodily functions. With no more strength left Luna sank into Sam's arms cried. **


End file.
